Hi all - hoping to pick your brains on something.
Needing to buy a new mid size SUV - ideally something with a fair bit of space in the back seat. Have test drove a few options - CX5, RAV4, CRV, Mitsubishi Outlander and probably the CX5 is the winner albeit, it's the smallest of the lot (CRV felt dated inside and new 2023 model is round the corner, the Outlander was great but seems to have brake and reverse camera issues, RAV4 is 2.5 years away). Given the features we want unfortunately we have to go for higher trims and pay $50-$57K.
I'm open to buying second hand to save money, but current prices for those are high (or above rrp) given supply issues, and feels like a bad deal to do so, given I am an Ozbargainer.
Am not really familiar with cars (never owned one) but I was wondering if it's better to spend say $40k - $45k for a second hand SUV from a few years ago from the more expensive brands - Volvo, Audi, BMW etc. Perhaps I am wrong but my logic goes more expensive brands probably have less supply issue and bigger price drops, as people who buy those cars will want something new and shiny, and servicing cost is high (I will do very little KMs on the car so guessing those costs will be lower for me). Downside would be the features may not be as good as the new car from cheaper brands (e.g. 360 camera, heads up display), but I am thinking that's like buying the lower trim of the Mazda, Toyota's etc for $40k - $45k.
Thoughts? And with my budget, any recommendations for which brand and model to look at if we want a mid size SUV? Any particular sweet spot with regards to age and KMs done? Would I need to increase my budget to say $50k / $55k to get to a better value proposition on these brands (I don't feel like spending as much as I would on new but could do so if the value equation improves a lot).
Alternatively, am thinking of buying something to just use for a few months to a year til the new 2023 CRV arrives - seems cheaper than renting from Carbar. Is that a decent idea or would the additional ownership transfer devalue the car by a bit (saw some ads promoting only owner), plus the admin costs and stamp duty?
Thanks
do you need an SUV? any reason that a station wagon wouldn't fit your needs?